Nomad Reverb??

[Dolebludger]

My reverb on my Nomad 55 2X12 either isn't there or is very faint. I didn't think much of it, as the reverb was faint on the Mark III I used to have. But if the Mark III were jostled while on, the reverb would remind me that it was in fact there with a loud "reverb crash". The Nomad does not do this. So I'm wondering if it is working. And, yes, it is equipped with reverb. Any ideas?

 

[Dolebludger]

Well, does everybody's Nomad reverb work just fine? Surely somebody has had this problem, and I'd sure like to hear some comments on its fix.

 

[lerxst88]

pots

 

[ibanezfreak777]

have you turned up the reverb on the back of the amp ?

thats the best help I could offer.

I only just bought a nomad100 so im in full learning mode..

 

[Koreth]

In my experience, the reverb on the Nomad series is very subtle on channels 2 and 3, especially in comparison to channel 1. to the point you could consider it weak. You have to really crank the reverb knobs on the gain channels to get the same reverb effect that a much milder setting on the channel 1 reverb knob would provide. If the knobs don't provide any change in the reverb sound, I would check to make sure that the pots, and the connections to the reverb tank are good.

 

[lerxst88]

sorry about my short post. for reverb i would check pots. it was the first thing to go wrong on my 100 head. next make sure your wires are in right. the rubber wire goes in the plug towards the middle of the amp and the one that looks like its about to fall apart goes closer to the edge. finally it might just be the tank. inspect it for cracked solder joints and if youre still having trouble a new tank is only $20 to $30.

 

[Dolebludger]

Reverb controls on max on back of amp. I do run the FX. What really concerns me is there is no "reverb crash" when I bump the amp -- and I have never had reverb-equipped sound equipment fail to do this. You guys with Nomads -- does your reverb make a "crash" sound when you bump your amp?

 

[lerxst88]

yeah it has. even with a bad tank mine did. i would bet the pots are bad and if your tone gets all trebley when you switch on reverb its because the wires to the tank are in backwards

 

[Dolebludger]

I've heard about pot problems on these amps. The only thing that would make me doubt that diagnosis a little is that all other pots (front and back) work, and all three channels have little to no reverb. So this would mean that only the three reverb post went out, all went out, and no other pot went out. There is no "treble boost" when I switch the reverb on. One wire to the reverb is hardwired into the chassis, and the other connects to the chassis bottom with a jack.

Or maybe the reverb on the Nomad is just very subtile?

 

[lerxst88]

its not "twin reverb" lush but its there and you can hear it for sure. you say its hardwired into the amp? one of the jacks (closer to the edge of the chassis) can come out but you might need pliers to pull it out. i would do that but after frustrations i just yank on the cord and it comes out and i only had to resolder the jack once in all the dozens of times ive taken my nomad apart.

the chances that only those pots went out is still pretty good, i mean anything can happen right? its worth a shot right?

 

[Dolebludger]

Well, you say something in your last post that makes me think I may be just finding fault when there is none. So I took out the FX loop (with graphic EQ and digital delay), and set the amp on clean and did A/B tests with reverb on/off. Yup, I could hear the reverb -- just not "surf reverb" -- with the reverb knob all the way up. It is more difficult to detect on ch. 2 and 3, as was said by another. Then, I noticed that the reverb tank is FAR shorter than the tank on any 2X12 I've owned. Also, there is no "scratchiness" in the pot rotation. Could it be that the short tank makes the reverb less noticeable?

I think I'll call Mesa next week and find a shop in my area to check it out. I guess I could get a longer reverb tank. Or I could put the digital reverb I already own in the rack?

 

[lerxst88]

really im not impressed by the reverb on the nomads but it is perfect for recording where you want just a touch to make everything sound natural.

there is a mod to increase reverb on channel 2 and 3 floating around here somewhere but i was going to try it but the resistors i had to replace where already a lower value than the ones they suggested.

if you need more reverb buy a pedal or a rack thing

 

[MrBear]

I ran across this a while back:

http://jvkamps.com/nomad-reverb-mod/

I haven't tried it, so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness, but maybe it would be worth a shot? BTW, if anyone smarter and/or more experienced with mods knows if this mod will screw up an amp, PLEASE call me out on this! I'd hate to think of anyone's Nomad being butchered based on a faulty mod posted by me...

 

[Dolebludger]

Thanks. I had heard of this mod, but had seen no detail on it. I'm not experienced enough to try it or speak intelligently about it either. What I wish is that I had stronger reverb on all three channels. I wouldn't mind it being weaker on ch. 2 and 3, but really wish I had more clean reverb (and I don't like digital reverbs very much). I think part of the problem is the tiny tank. The smallest I've seen on a 2X12.

 

[longhair55]

Yeah,the reverb on mine is almost non existent.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I haven't had a Nomad since they 1st came out. And....I didn't own it for long, so I can't say for sure.

Looking at the drawing for the mod, you could easily apply any resistance you wanted to the 2 in question. It is series resistance designed to lower the signal being fed back into the amp. If you wanted it to be over powering, you could even take them out and put a jumper wire in their place.

This may cause a little reverb crash when changing channels, but you won't know until you try. It may also cause some type of unwanted feedback.
It's pretty hard to damage your amp by removing series resistance in the signal path. Removing resistance in the power supply or power amp portion will easily destroy the amp though!


For that matter, there may be some resistance in the clean channel's Reverb that would increase it as well.




Just remember to discharge the caps and unplug the amp. Forgetting this can be extremely painful or even deadly!